


Transmission Dots

by Lady_Noremon



Category: Lifeline (Video Game 2015), Lifeline Series - Fandom
Genre: Halfway To Infinity, Other, The Green Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-15
Updated: 2017-04-15
Packaged: 2018-10-19 02:47:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,136
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10630560
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_Noremon/pseuds/Lady_Noremon
Summary: MINOR SPOILERS FOR HALFWAY TO INFINITY The Lifeline gives Taylor a love confession during a brief respite on the Viridian.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This was started back in [February](http://lady-noremon.tumblr.com/post/158272533975/i-havent-touched-this-since-february-7th-it), but I got side-tracked by helping with Q-Comm Radio [[the Lifeline Community Discord's](https://discord.gg/5tFeQGH) music bot] and didn't come back to it until tonight. I'm not sure on how I wrote Taylor, but this is my first time! There's a part in “ _Lifeline: Halfway To Infinity_ " where Taylor is hunkered in the cockpit. This takes place in the space of them doing lock reprogramming, and when they decide to eat a MRE.

She knows they’re probably out of breath. Huddled down on the floor, trying to make light for her sake even if they're both terrified. They take a moment for their hearts to slow, and the nagging anticipation on whether the door lock was going to actually work. She and Taylor both know their confidence was to help push them through it. They both finally relax as well as they can after what seems like an eons. This is a brief respite, a chance to recollect their thoughts and plan. She decides to not waste it, to express what she's felt like bursting to say since Cadet Taylor ignited the tunguskite on Christmas.

“ _Since I might not get another chance, I want to tell you something. Well three things, but mostly this thing._ ” 

She expects some joking comment in response. She'd rather there was one. It might relieve her tension, but that jerk just waits for her to finish. She breathes in and out, it's speech-to-text so it wouldn't matter how she says it. But she says it as if her words are broadcasting out, all the way across the time and space.

“ _Taylor...I love you._ ”

" _Ah._ " 

The words load on the screen and it's as if they tumbled out, falling across space. Taylor is silent, and she waits for the little dots to show they are continuing. It feels like an eternity waiting, eventually " _[Taylor is busy.]_ " appears and it's as if the word has finally landed. It feels as if something heavy is sitting in her stomach. Logically she knows it would even appear with inactivity, without them initiating it, but it still aches. She knew very well finally saying it would change things between them irreparable, but neither of them knew just how much time they would still have to talk. The occupiers could get into the cockpit any time, or whatever scheme Taylor and her eventually came up with could backfire horribly. It was now or possibly never, and she grasped onto the chance. She debates telling the other two things, to try to brush this awkward silence away. But she just lets it hang, eventually setting the communication device down.

They are an indefinite distance from each other physically. Many, many years and light years apart. But both have never felt so connected to another person before. It may have happened by sheer chance, but now the bond is firmly in place. It's more than just her being a lifeline to them, the comfort and trust wrapped in a closeness.

“ _Is this what it feels like when I'm pouring my guts out to you?_ " 

They’ve been trying to think of a cool remark to make, sitting on the cockpit floor in their sweat soaked IEVA suit. It took a while for the statement to sink in, to push past the wall of shock. Their chest feels like it is full of joy, and they have been trying to settle themself down. And then calm themself down from the panic at realising they’ve kept her waiting way too long. The twinges of guilt at how it must be making her feel. They slap the palm of a gloved hand against their wet forehead, trying to force focus. Finally bringing those little transmission dots to her screen.

There's a twinge in her gut on the verge of fear when she goes to check her device. Not knowing if no response still would be worse than one. It seems like a joke, a lightness instead of an insult. It's hard to always be communicating with text, but she's become good at reading what Taylor sends--or doesn't send. She grasps about for a response, but at least their words have broken the tension.

“ _BACK_  
AT  
YA”

They begin again, trying to get each word in capitals on a separate line. The Q-Comm not being one for changing the text size, they want to get their enthusiastic assurance through. It would be a terrible time for the connection to drop they realise as soon as it sends.

“ _That's a relief!_ ” 

Is her immediate response, but really it's not that much relief. It opens up a lot more questions, now that they’ve admitted they love each other. There are many vast kinds of love, and besides from the all encompassing love she knows she feels for the stranded science student, there are roots of a more romantic love starting to grow.

“ _Sorry to make you wait. ... You could say you took my words. Which we know is a rare event!_ ”

“ _Should I be flattered?_ ”

They’ve flirted before, just hours ago when this newest signal first came through. They made her heart pitter-patter, even despite the silliness. But she's hesitate this time, knowing it isn't a joke.

“ _Do you want to be?_ ”

The sasstronaut puts it back on her. They are scared to take the leap, to kick the joking off the precipice into the pit of seriousness. They know how they feel, they let it slip several times today with her. But ‘ _love_ ’ can be many things and they’re not sure what this tether she's sending to them contains.

“ _Yes._ ” She almost adds ‘ _Flatter me_ ’, in the same way as ‘ _Entertain me_ ’ all the way back in The White Star’s Med Bay. 

“ _Well...I haven't met you in person, and haven't heard your voice. Yet. But I find you highly dependable, you always support me even if we BOTH know it's a horrible idea, you're pretty funny. ALMOST hilarious as myself. I would be lost without you. And...you make my chest almost burst._ ” They kick the joking like a pebble. “ _In a good way! Not in that space John Hurt way. Need to clarify, with the situation._ ”

“ _I’m glad you're not comparing me to an alien!_ ”

“ _But you are OUT OF THIS WORLD. Actually that's me._ ”

“ _...Hopefully not forever._ ”

And they push down all the worries about time periods; there will be time to think of that later. For now she's given them even more reason to get out of this mess alive. Yet another mess, but that's what she's excellent at. Right now it doesn't matter if they'll never meet. If she's long dead by the time they were born. All of that can matter later. Now, they are like a movie hero, where even though there is the right thing to do, a hoard of enemies, impossible odds, they still do it all because of someone back home. It's a good thing they don't have a picture to stare longingly at though, that's never a good thing to do in movies. And that takes them back to their dire situation now. They check the door lock and monitors, before proposing a dinner date. At least she won't have to deal with Chicken Chunks.


End file.
